New Mexico is formally suing Donald Trump’s Justice Department, alleging that officials — including attorney general nominee Todd Blanche — are “stonewalling” the state’s investigation into the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The lawsuit, filed by New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez, quotes a 2021 finding from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit that the Epstein case’s underlying facts constituted a “national disgrace” — and it accuses Blanche, currently the acting attorney general, and other DOJ officials of perpetuating it by withholding key unredacted materials needed for New Mexico’s probe.
Current Acting United States Attorney General Todd Blanche and members of United States Department of Justice (“USDOJ”) leadership in Washington, D.C., the Southern District of New York, and the District of New Mexico perpetuate that disgrace. Their conduct now actively harms victims and undermines the public interest, by stonewalling New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez’s ongoing criminal investigation into conduct by Epstein and his co-conspirators at “Zorro Ranch” located outside Santa Fe.
The ranch reportedly was a site that Epstein, a former associate of Trump’s, envisioned using as part of a scheme to seed the human race with his DNA by impregnating various women. And it’s the site of an unconfirmed allegation that Epstein had the bodies of two girls buried on the estate.
New Mexico’s efforts to investigate Epstein’s ranch have apparently been met with federal resistance during both of Trump’s terms. Even Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., a staunch Trump loyalist and the House Oversight Committee chairman, has raised questions about why the federal government “asked New Mexico to stop” its investigation in in 2019.
“We want to get the answers,” Comer told Fox News in March.
New Mexico’s Torrez sent Blanche a letter saying the DOJ was withholding key documents from the state, and he warned that it was leading to victims “being denied justice.” The president has openly stated his desire for Americans to move on from the Epstein controversy, and Blanche has basically said the DOJ should do the same.
Last week, Epstein victims said Blanche was “very condescending” during a meeting he held with them as Republicans try to achieve his Senate confirmation as AG. And the administration has never given the impression that the president — a key character in the Epstein files — and his allies are interested at all in getting to the bottom of the scandal. (Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.)
In response to MS NOW’s request for comment, the DOJ issued a statement accusing New Mexico of seeking the “disclosure of victim-identifying information carte blanche” and saying that it was lawfully withholding some documents out of concerns for “protecting victims’ privacy.” This is coming from the same DOJ that has already exposed victims on its own via insufficient redactions, and there’s no evidence New Mexico has sought disclosure of any information “carte blanche.”
In a press conference held over Zoom on Wednesday, Torrez repeatedly asserted that he had “never heard of” and “never encountered” the type of stonewalling his office has experienced in trying to pry Epstein documents from Trump’s DOJ. And his lawsuit doubles down on his previous contention about potential harm to victims:
USDOJ and Acting Attorney General Blanche are refusing to facilitate the investigation of state law crimes by hiding information about Epstein and his co-conspirators from Attorney General Torrez and state law enforcement, when New Mexico is one of few jurisdictions that still may have an opportunity to hold Epstein’s associates accountable or otherwise provide some sense of justice to survivors.
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